BREAKING NEWS: Corbin man dies after leaping off Hwy. 770 bridge into City Dam Lake Thursday

Billy Barton

It took only about an hour for rescue officials to find the man who leapt from Hwy. 770 bridge into City Dam Lake near Corbin Thursday, and unfortunately the story did not have a happy ending.

Billy Barton, 59, died as a result of the fall. The incident appears to be a suicide, though investigators have made no official determination in the case.

According to Senior Laurel County Deputy Sheriff Greg Poynter, Barton was riding in a truck with his neighbor, Lester Lawson, when the incident ocurred. Lawson told police Barton needed a ride to the Dollar General Store located near the intersection of Hwy. 770 and 312, but asked him to stop the truck so he could get a closer look at a bag of trash lying along the roadway on the bridge.

Lawson said when he stopped Barton sat atop the railing of the bridge, simply said "bye," and then apparently tumbled backward into the lake.

"He just fell over," Lawson said.

Witnesses reported seeing Barton emerge from the water, wave briefly, then disappear below the surface again.

The incident happened at about 3:50 p.m. Thursday. The bridge towers above the water level of the lake. Authorities say the water Barton plummeted into is only about 10 feet deep.

Officials from the Laurel County Sheriff’s Department, Laurel County Emergency Management, West Knox Volunteer Fire Department and Ambulance Inc. are all on scene investigating the case.